Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
structure, which is wrapped by a 94-step winding staircase, was commissioned by Lady
Conolly in 1743 to give employment to local tenants whose crops were ruined by the
severe frosts in the winters of 1741 and 1742. The building was ostensibly a granary, but
it was also used as a shooting tower - doves were considered a delicacy in Georgian
times. Flanking the main building are two smaller towers, which were also used to store
grain. Be warned however: the land surrounding the barn has been zoned for redevelop-
ment and there is a plan to build 500-odd houses around it, so prepare to trundle through a
building site.
LARCHILL ARCADIAN GARDENS
( 01-628 7354;
www.larchill.ie
; Kilcock; adult/child €7.50/5.50; noon-6pm Tue-Sun Jun-Aug, noon-6pm Sat &
Sun Sep)
About 12km northwest of the Castletown House are the Larchill Arcadian Gar-
dens, Europe's only example of a mid-18th-century
ferme ornée
(ornamental farm). A
40-minute walk takes you through beautiful landscaped parklands, passing eccentric fol-
lies (including a model of the Gibraltar fortress and a shell-decorated tower), gazebos and
a lake. Children will be chuffed with the adventure playground, maze and rare-breed farm
animals.
GARDENS
